Former Enugu State Governor Okwesilieze Nwodo has pushed back against the growing wave of political defections in the South-East, insisting that the region’s voters cannot be directed by elite endorsements ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Monday, Nwodo said the South-East electorate has a long-standing tradition of voting independently, guided by conviction rather than the political choices of governors or influential leaders.
His comments come amid a surge of defections by South-East political heavyweights to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), many of whom have publicly declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
According to Nwodo, such declarations may carry little weight at the ballot box.
“People in the South-East have learnt to follow their conscience when it comes to voting in a general election,” he said, warning that elite alignment with the APC does not automatically translate into popular support.
Responding to questions on why some South-East leaders are not rallying behind former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Nwodo said he would not speak for politicians who have chosen to back President Tinubu.
However, he clarified that his party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), intends to challenge the ruling party on governance and policy performance rather than political symbolism.
“We want to engage the president and his party on their policies, the effectiveness of their implementation, and the promises made to Nigerians,” he said, adding that these should be weighed against the alternatives being offered by Obi.
Nwodo questioned the rationale behind the mass movement of governors into the APC, noting that similar defections are taking place across the country.
“Many Nigerians are asking what exactly is attracting governors to the APC,” he said. “We don’t see it in the party’s organisation, and we don’t see it in the performance of the central government.”
He also expressed concern about what he described as Nigeria’s gradual drift towards a one-party state, arguing that the trend is not being driven by ideology or governance success.
Despite his criticism, Nwodo acknowledged that governors have a constitutional right to change political parties, even if their reasons remain unclear to the public.
Reflecting on the 2023 presidential election, he said the South-East had already demonstrated its independence by overwhelmingly supporting Peter Obi, despite opposition from some sitting governors.
He recalled how several incumbent governors failed to deliver their states — or even win their own senatorial contests — due to the surge of support for the so-called Obedient Movement.
Nwodo argued that current economic hardship could further intensify voter resistance to political directives in 2027.
“Poverty is increasing at an experiential proportion,” he said, suggesting that worsening living conditions could fuel an even stronger protest vote across the South-East and beyond.
